The Third Industrial Revolution. by Jeremy Rifkin

Jeremy Rifkin explores Internet technology and renewable energy merging to create a powerful "Third Industrial Revolution." "Imagine hundreds of millions of people producing their own green energy in their homes, offices, and factories, and sharing it with each other in an "energy internet," as we create and share information online."

"Rifkin describes how the five-pillars of the Third Industrial Revolution will create thousands of businesses and millions of jobs, and usher in a fundamental reordering of human relationships, from hierarchical to cpower, that will impact the way we conduct business, govern society, educate our children, and engage in civic life."

Replies to This Discussion

He says that distributive information merged with distributive energy might get us to biosphere consciousness in two or three generations. ROFL Perhaps so, but Climate Destabilization is moving an order of magnitude faster, isn't it?

"ROFL"?Isn't that what Rifkin says, we are too far into the collapse to stop it? If I misinterpret what he says, please correct me. My favorite thing is when someone finds me in error and gives me evidence of why I am in error and hopefully, what is a better interpretation. Thanks Ruth.

Yes, it's a little late. Biology is following its usual course of bloom and die-off. This one is on a grand scale, taking so much down that a resurgence of technology in the future is very unlikely. Easily accessed fuel and materials are about exhausted.

The Anthropocene Extinction Event is on. The political will to do anything meaninful is not there, and it's a tad too far along anyway.

Earth will green-over again and a diverse biosphere will run for a billion or more years, but I doubt any species get past sticks and stones again.

Phil, I agree with you 100%. Now, the next task is to prepare for the Anthropocene Extinction, in the meantime loving, caring, compassion, can make it a less gloomy-doomy place. After all, we did it to ourselves. I think this is the Great Filter through which sentient beings with cognitive ability cannot pass. The public doesn't realize it in time. The politicians don't want to be the bearers of bad news or even think about reality, only victory in elections, and the religious think it is part of god's plan and welcome it.

I wonder if there were other cognitive beings before the last extinction who realized too late they were hitting the extinction wall and tried to warn us? No, I think we have this incredibly beautiful and fruitful planet and we squandered it.

You know what I would like to see happen, the public catch on to current events and their causes and put up one hell of fight against the oligarchs whose scheming and propaganda led us by a ring in our noses to this outcome. Give 'em hell!